


Friends of the Soul

by Buffintruder



Series: Aro Spec Awareness Week [11]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Aromantic, Found Family, Gen, Greed (FMA) Lives, Platonic Soulmates, Post-Canon, Sort Of, this is for asaw but it's mostly friendship with a bit of aro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-27
Updated: 2019-02-27
Packaged: 2019-11-06 08:52:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17936684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Buffintruder/pseuds/Buffintruder
Summary: Ever since Greed was torn out of his body, Ling’s mind has felt empty and silent, but even still, his heart has never been more full.





	Friends of the Soul

**Author's Note:**

> I just really wanted more post-Promised Day stories where Greed cuddles with his friends. This was going to be that before I realized that it was almost aro-spec awareness week, so I slightly revised my mental outline of this story, and now here it is, a few days late.  
> Greed’s resurrection is based off this comic, buffintruder.tumblr.com/post/182118548933/humming-fly-humming-fly-instead-of-continuing in which Ling chucks half of the liquid philosopher’s stone that Lan Fan has at Greed when his soul is floating off, reviving him in his old body.

Ling manages to give Greed the silent treatment for just over one full day after he was torn from their body and nearly killed. It is, without a doubt, the worst day of his life.

It certainly doesn’t help that Fu has just died and the world nearly ended and the country he is currently in is experiencing a military coup.

After so many months spent sharing a body, Ling has grown used to someone else moving his limbs, someone else speaking with his mouth, someone else with him every moment of every day. His head is too empty without Greed chattering away in there, without the flood of souls swirling around in the background. Ling feels like he’s missing half of his soul, and with how synchronized they were at the end, he thinks that the description might not even be technically inaccurate.

Sometimes, even while Ling is actively thinking about Greed's absence, he mentally turns to ask Greed a question, only to be met with pressing silence. Sometimes, when something catches his attention, he wonders why Greed isn’t already moving them toward the commotion, only to remember.

When he was first possessed by Greed, Ling hated that there was no aspect of his life that was solely his anymore. Now he is more alone than he has ever been. Even Lan Fan and Mei’s company aren’t enough to fill the giant gap in his heart.

He misses Greed’s voice, his wicked grins and boasts, and even his complete lack of understanding of deeper human emotions. Which is ridiculous because Greed is still alive, even if he isn’t in Ling’s body. He’s not _dead_ , even if he nearly was. Ling shouldn’t feel like he’s mourning him.

Ling is still furious at Greed, and has every right to be, but he is starting to realize that this silent treatment is hurting him more than it displays his anger. It isn’t right for Greed to continue making him feel bad after everything that’s happened. He would rather be upset in Greed’s company than upset without it.

With that decided, Ling seeks out Greed in the hospital the Elrics and Mustang have been staying in. According to Lan Fan who has been keeping an eye on him, Greed has been lurking there since the Promised Day. Ling wonders if it’s because he doesn’t really have anywhere else to go.

Ling finds Greed pacing outside the back of the building. Between the military coup and Father, the inside of the hospital is swarming with patients and visitors, but out here, it’s almost quiet.

“Hey, Greed,” he calls out. The new face is jarring, still not lining up with his image of Greed. It makes sense for Greed’s own body to not look like the giant floating mask that Ling saw in their mind, but it still feels weird. Ling wants to look away, but he knows he will have to get used to it sooner or later.

Greed stops his pacing. “Come to yell at me again for lying to you?”

His voice is more lifeless than normal, and Ling wonders if Greed feels that hollow ache in his chest just as strongly as he does. Their separation came just after Greed realized that what he really wanted was friends, which couldn’t have helped, Ling thinks with a pang. The flare of irritation that had sparked in Ling at the reminder of Greed’s lie dies back down.

“No. I... I just missed you.” It’s harder to stay angry at Greed when hearing him talk brings Ling so much relief. Seeing Greed in a body that isn’t Ling’s, sensing his qi as a thing separate from his own, is strange, but Ling is so grateful that he’s here at all that it almost doesn’t matter.

“Really? I thought you would have been delighted to have your body back to yourself.” There’s a clear note of bitterness, and Ling feels a familiar rush of exasperation. Ling should really learn to stop overestimating Greed’s emotional literacy.

“You do know that I’m not angry at you because I don’t like you, right?” Ling asks. “That I’m only angry because we’re _friends_ , and then you lied to me and tried to sacrifice yourself? If Lan Fan hadn’t been so quick-thinking with the philosopher’s stone, I would have had to live my whole life without ever seeing or hearing you again, knowing that you never got a chance to see Xing or a future with people who care about you, and I don’t know how I would have managed that!”

His voice has risen by the end of his speech, thick with the kind of raw emotion that he knows he won’t be able to show publicly once he’s the Emperor, but it’s not like he’s ever held back from Greed.

Greed looks down and doesn’t say anything, which is enough to let Ling know that he didn’t know any of that.

Ling sighs, the memories of his panicked fear of losing Greed settling down. “You really don’t know how friendship works, do you.”

“Well it’s hardly my fault! You wouldn’t find it so easy if you were the personification of avarice, raised to look down on humans and care for no one but your Father!”

“Fair enough,” Ling says casually, though his emotions are far from it. The last of his bitterness fades into a strange sort of pity, and suddenly he can’t bear being separated from Greed any longer. He steps forward and wraps Greed in a big hug, clinging to him with the kind of strength he had used to try to keep Father from tearing them apart. After a moment, he feels arms wrap around his shoulders, squeezing back just as tightly.

“I guess there’s one benefit of everything that’s happened,” Ling says, trying to keep himself afloat among the all emotions swirling inside with everything he’s lost and everything he _didn’t_. “I can hug you properly now.”

Greed chuckles softly into his ear, a sound just for him. The devouring silence in Ling’s head draws back, and the world feels like it might be right again.

...

Ling doesn’t leave Greed’s presence after that. He still sometimes mentally turns to share a thought with someone who isn’t in his head anymore, but at least now when he does, he can just say the comment out loud, and it almost doesn’t hurt.

His anger isn’t gone—he’s still so tired of the people he loves sacrificing themselves for him—but it’s not like he’s entirely innocent of those urges either. At least Greed is still alive, and Ling’s too relieved to hold onto anger for long.

All in all, the second and third day after the Promised Day go far smoother for Ling than the first. He knows he has to return to Xing with Lan Fan and Mei, and sooner would be better, but he thinks they all deserve some time to recover and wrap things up here.

They visit the Elric brothers as soon as they can and chat for hours. It feels a bit like those long evenings when they were on the run from the government except better because Al is there and Ling can speak whenever he wants, even if Greed pokes him in his ticklish spots whenever he teases him too much.

Ling also discusses politics with Mustang, laying down the basis of a new diplomatic relationship between their two countries, talking over ideas for when they’re both in charge. These conversations, started when Ling was trying to avoid Greed, have become much more fun with all of Greed’s interjections.

His nights are spent in the hotel room he shares with Greed and Lan Fan as he tries not to sleep. His dreams are too quiet now without Greed buzzing away at the back of his mind, even with all the horrors that haunt his mind every time he closes his eyes. His head is filled with chaos and despair without a friendly voice to drown it all out.

Instead, he jokes with Greed or talks about how to change the clan system in Xing with Lan Fan for as late as he can. When Lan Fan is sleeping or out patrolling and Greed is staring out the window deep in thought, Ling occupies himself by reading books on Amestrian politics and ponders diplomacy.

On the third night, Lan Fan approaches him, hesitating before speaking. “My lord? Can I have a word?”

“Yeah?” Ling says. There’s a serious note in her eyes, and his stomach twists. “Of course. You always can.”

“ _Alone_ ,” she says, her eyes darting to Greed.

“Yeah, okay, sure. I’ll leave you two _alone_.” Greed jumps up and winks at them, and before Ling can protest, he’s already out the door.

It’s the first time Greed’s been out of hearing distance in two full days, and Ling expects it to be uncomfortable, but it isn’t really. If he was completely alone in the room, or if Lan Fan makes Greed stay out too long, he’s sure it would be a different story, but for now, it’s fine.

“What do you want to talk about?” Ling asks in Xingese.

Lan Fan looks pointedly at the door Greed just exited. “Do you know what he plans on doing now?”

“We haven’t really talked,” Ling admits. “But I invited him to come back to Xing with us, and I don’t think he has anywhere better to go. Are you okay with that?” He isn’t sure what he’ll do if Lan Fan says no, but he knows he has to ask.

“I... Yes.”

Ling probably looks surprised because Lan Fan cracks a smile.

“I don’t entirely trust him, but he isn’t kidnapping you for his selfish purposes, so I suppose he can do as he pleases.”

Ling looks down at his crossed legs then back at her. “I won’t tell you who to trust, but could you give him a chance? He was in my head for _months,_  and I trust him. He means a lot to me.”

“You’ve always given your heart away too easily,” Lan Fan says. “But what do you think I’ve been doing, if not giving him a chance?”

“Oh true...” Ling mutters sarcastically. “You only threatened to stab him _five_ times these past two days.”

“Exactly,” Lan Fan says, and she doesn’t smile, but her eyes crinkle. “It could have been ten.”

Ling grins, his heart relaxing in relief. “I’m glad my two friends won’t be at odds with each other. That would really be a pain since both of them are so committed to stay by my side at all times.”

“I’m your bodyguard,” Lan Fan says, her tone turning serious. “And now that you have the philosopher’s stone, or at least half of one, you’re in even more danger than normal.”

Ling could protest that he is capable of taking care of himself, and a year ago he would have done that. But he’s spent too much time separated from her, and especially after losing Fu, he can’t blame her for wanting to make sure he’s safe. “Thank you for your dedication.” He doesn’t say that enough, but it feels right to do so now.

Lan Fan smiles, the soft kind that she rarely lets anyone outside of family see, which is all Ling needs to know he’s said the right thing. “You may allow the homunculus to come back in now. No doubt he’s pacing in the hallway outside like a lost puppy.”

...

The train ride to Youswell isn’t as tense as Ling expected it to be. Mei gets along splendidly with Ling and Lan Fan, now that they don’t see each other as competition for the throne. Lan Fan still isn’t enamoured with Greed, and Mei is wary of him, which Ling supposes is fair considering her other encounters with the homunculi, but no one is hostile, so it’s more or less fine.

Right now, Lan Fan is out of the train car somewhere, probably on the lookout for any potential threats. Mei has lifted the armrest separating their seats and is now sleeping curled up on her side, Xiao Mei mimicking her position. Greed is staring out the window, his eyes a million miles away.

The peaceful scenery and steady clack of the train tracks lulls Ling. He yawns and rests his head on Greed’s shoulder. Something touches his head, and he instinctively jerks back before realizing it’s just Greed.

“You’re jumpy, aren’t you,” Greed says, a grin in his voice.

“You’d be too, if you’ve had assassins after you since birth,” Ling mutters, but he leans back into Greed.

Gentle fingers comb through his hair, pulling it out of its ponytail, and Ling can feel the weight of Greed’s arm propped up against his shoulders. Ling wants to melt into the sensation, though he feels like a cat for thinking that.

“What are you doing?” he asks.

“It’s my hair,” Greed says defensively.

“Not anymore,” Ling says, but he doesn’t tell Greed to stop. No one has ever really showed him much physical affection before. His mother was too distant, and Fu and Lan Fan were too respectful. When Greed was in Ling’s body, he was always very tactile with Ed and the chimeras, slinging arms over shoulders, ruffling hair, lightly punching people’s arms, but that was different because it wasn’t Ling in control. Ling rather likes this.

Greed continues playing with his hair, the repetitive, absent-minded motion bringing Ling into a sleepier state than before. He dozes off for a bit, Greed comfortably warm beneath his head.

“What are you going to do when we get to Xing?” Ling asks when he gets bored of his lonely thoughts.

“Rule Xing with you,” Greed said, an unspoken ‘duh’ in his voice. “That’s what I said I’d do, didn’t I?”

“You said that was your first and last lie.”

“And I plan on retroactively making it a truth.”

“I don’t think that’s how lies work,” Ling says, though he can’t help the smile tugging at his lips. “It’s not going to be as easy though, now that you’re in a different body. Emperors traditionally rule alone, and you’re not even Xingese.”

“I thought you were all about changing traditions,” Greed says, and Ling feels his own face start to shift into a pout, muscles instinctively reacting to Greed’s tone, before he stops himself.

“Not all of them,” Ling says, and the fingers in his hair stop. He already misses their motion. He backtracks quickly. “I mean, what’s mine is yours and always will be, but I’m just warning you that it can’t be official or public.”

“Then how do you plan on doing it?”

“I was thinking about making you my advisor.”

There is a contemplative silence. “Your top advisor.”

“Okay, sure,” Ling says. Depending on the issue, Ling will probably end up listening more to Lan Fan and Mei and all the other specialized experts he will have in his court, but Greed can have whatever title he wants. He thinks Greed has always been more interested in ruling the world in name than in practice anyway. “You’ll have to learn Xingese though.”

“I mean I already picked up a bunch from living in your head,” Greed says, finally going back to stroking Ling’s hair. “How hard can it be?”

Ling closes his eyes and grins, toothier than he did before Greed. All of a sudden, he can’t wait to see Greed scandalize the country with his blunt speech, inappropriate mannerisms, and his unique qi. With all of Ling’s new ideas, Mei’s earnest determination, Greed’s sheer force of personality, and Lan Fan there to watch over them all, Xing won’t know what hit it.

...

It isn’t one of Ling’s best days. They’ve made it to Youswell, but he’s gotten little sleep since before the Promised Day. They have to stop at the border town for a day to prepare for their trek across the desert, but Ling is itching to just hurry up and go.

The first part of the journey was bittersweet, heavy with the knowledge of all the people he was leaving behind in Amestris. Part of him wanted to drag out the journey so he wouldn’t truly be gone yet.

But now they’re nearly out of the country, and it’s been a while since they have heard word from Xing, and the urgency to return swirls around inside his head. For all they know, someone else has already been named heir.

It doesn’t help that a part of Ling just feels empty and dull and tired. Maybe it’s because he misses his Amestrian friends, or because he can already anticipate all the energy he will have to spend once he returns to Xing, or because of the lack of sleep, or because part of him still misses the feeling of someone else in his mind. The exact reasons don’t matter much. All he knows is that there is something heavy weighing down on his heart, making him feel like he never wants to do anything at all ever again.

Still, there are things to be done, and there’s no time to waste moping about. He follows Mei and Greed out of their inn to stock up on food and supplies before they set out across the desert. Lan Fan isn’t anywhere in sight, though she is probably lurking around somewhere, keeping an eye on them.

The day is hot enough to make Ling want to lie down in the middle of the street and give up on life, but that doesn’t stop him from wrapping an arm around Greed’s waist the moment they reach the relatively cool shade of some taller buildings alongside the road.

“This will go faster if we split up,” Mei says, giving the two of them a pointed look. Ling has no idea how she feels about Greed, but he thinks the look is more exasperated than distrustful.

“Right then,” Ling says, waving his hand as if shooing her away. “Off you go.”

Greed snorts, and Mei rolls her eyes. “Fine,” she says. “I’ll get the food, if you get the other supplies.”

“I’ve seen how much the two of you eat,” Greed says, raising an eyebrow at Mei’s retreating back. “Do you really think that tiny girl can carry all that food by herself?”

Ling shrugs, low enough on energy that he doesn’t want to put up with even this mildest form of disagreement. He begins turning to the other end of the street toward a general store when he distantly hears, “What the hell is that?”

He looks over his shoulder to see Mei glaring at a couple teenage boys, probably around the same age as Ling. On her shoulder, Ling catches the glint of reflected sunlight from Xiao Mei’s barred teeth.

“It has teeth?” the other boy scoffs as Mei tries to walk past them. He nudges the first boy. “Isn’t that so pathetic? A freakish girl with her freakish ‘guard dog’.”

Ling recognizes this kind of teenager, having seen them both in Xing and Amestris. He knows they are still maturing, that they are frustrated and angry with the world, trying to pick fights with anyone and everyone because they haven’t learned yet that it might not always be a smart idea.

“Two little runts,” the first boy sneers, and Mei suddenly stops, eyes flashing.

“Excuse me?” she asks, her voice a mask of deadly anger.

Ling knows that she can defend herself, that she might even be better at fighting than he is. Still, a coil of protective anger curls up in his belly, and he wonders if this is what it feels like to be an older brother.

“What did they say to her?!” Greed hisses in his ear. He pulls away from Ling, his body tensed to fight.

Despite the part of Ling that is more than ready to join in, he stops Greed before he can take more than a few steps forward. “She won’t appreciate us fighting her battles,” he whispers back.

“You got a problem with us?” the second boy demands Mei cockily. Ling knows that he won’t keep that tone for long.

“Hm?” Mei asks, dripping false innocence. “Oh, I was just wondering if you were talking to me, because last week I met someone who tried to become God, and even he wasn’t as foolishly arrogant as you would be if you were trying to pick a fight with me.”

“Get ‘em!” Greed cheers, and Mei smiles faintly.

The two boys focus their attention on Greed and Ling just long enough to see they aren’t about to interfere before going back to scowling at Mei. “You think you can take us?”

“I know it,” she says coolly. Lightning fast, one hand flashes, then the other, and suddenly there is a circle of daggers around the feet of each boy. They shriek and leap back, the shock and terror on their face making Ling laugh.

“Yeah!” he calls out, clapping as Greed shouts, “Woohoo!”

Mei takes a step towards the boys who both take two steps back. The earlier anger in Ling’s stomach becomes lighter, shifting into smug pride. “Do you still wish to fight?” she asks innocently.

They both take off running, not bothering to respond.

Ling walks up to her as she retrieves her knives. “You really showed them!”

Mei looks up and grins. “I probably shouldn’t have done that, but it was kind of nice to show off.”

“And you did a great job of that!” Greed says. He turns to Ling, grinning widely. “Did you see their faces?!”

“It was so cool!” Ling agrees. Xingese royalty are taught to control their temper, but after a lifetime of warding off assassination, and with all the immortal homunculi they’ve been up against recently, facing such a minor threat was really satisfying. “I’m not sure if I’ve ever told you, but your aim is quite amazing!”

“Thanks!” Mei says.

Greed gives her two thumbs up before turning to Ling. “Our little sister really is something, isn’t she?”

It takes Ling half a second to catch the weird phrasing. “‘Our’??”

“You did say what’s yours is mine,” Greed says, like he doesn’t understand Ling’s objection.

Ling glances at Mei to see how she is responding to this. She looks vaguely bemused. “I suppose that’s better than being one of your ‘possessions.’” She wrinkles her nose at the last word.

“Hey, I’ve learned better now! Friends don’t appreciate it when you call them your possessions.” Greed’s tone is casual, a layer of false offense on top, but Ling could hear the slight hesitation on the word ‘friends’, and he thinks that Greed still isn’t quite used to the idea.

Ling puts on an expression of exaggerated shock. “Are you saying that after months of me yelling at you inside your head, something has finally stuck?!”

Greed makes a face like he wants to make a snappy comeback, but he just elbows Ling, which Ling takes to mean that Greed couldn’t think of anything good to say.

“Well,” Mei finally says. “Since your relationship seems to be something between brothers, a married couple, and being the same person, I suppose Greed can be my older brother as well as Ling. Now are we ever going to actually buy supplies or what?” She spins around and marches off in the direction she had been heading in before the boys had harassed her.

“I have a younger sister now...” Greed murmurs to himself, his eyes soft and his grin wide.

Ling thinks of Greed’s last family, all gone now. None of them were good people, and at least three of them tried to kill Greed. Ling’s family isn’t much better, so he can sort of relate. He has never really had any of his dozens of half-siblings acknowledge him as their brother, and even though recently he has been thinking of Mei as his little sister, having it confirmed by her makes him want to burst with a strange warmth, the weight of his exhaustion lifting slightly.

He wraps his arm back around Greed, resting his head on his shoulder. “We’re going to be the best older brothers the world has ever seen,” he promises.

“Hell fuckin’ yeah!” Greed crows. “Edward Elric’s got nothing on us!”

“Uh...” Ling pulls back slightly, his eyes widening. He thinks of Ed’s endless dedication for Al, how he practically raised Al despite only being a year older, how he gave years of his life to the military and eventually his alchemy for Al to get his body back. Ling can’t live up to those kinds of standards. “I—I’m not sure I would go that far!”

...

The four of them are chatting around the fire in the middle of the desert, a comfortable camaraderie hanging over all of them, and it reminds Ling of all those nights when he was on the run with Ed and the chimeras. It’s hard to believe that not even two weeks have passed since then.

“You only had to fend off _one_ assassin from the Liu clan?” Lan Fan scoffs, dragging Ling back into the conversation. Despite Greed’s insistence that he learned some Xingese from living in Ling’s brain, he is nowhere near fluent, so the group continues to speak in Amestrian when they want him to understand. “One time, I had to fight off assassins from the Zhang and Wu clans _plus_ angry rioters from a local resistance movement.”

“And how much help did you have?” Mei shoots back. “Ling and Fu and all the other guards in the area? I was by myself and I was _eight_.”

Greed whistles softly, the air blowing past Ling’s ear. “Geez, your system is _fucked up_.”

“That’s why I’m going to change it,” Ling says. He has known that the clan system of heirs is awful for as long as he can remember, but getting to know Mei, his sister who he was raised to be rivals with, really hammers in the point.

“No heirs are going to have lives like ours ever again,” Mei says with that steely determination of hers. Even if Ling was planning on keeping the system, he thinks that he would be powerless to stop her from abolishing it herself.

“Okay, but now I’m curious,” Greed says, turning back to Lan Fan. “Why the fuck was Ling in danger from two sets of assassins and rioters _all at the same time?!”_

Lan Fan launches into the story, and Ling lets his mind drift. He lived this tale, after all, and he doesn’t particularly need to hear it again. He would rather enjoy the peace that has settled between his friends.

It isn’t all perfect. Lan Fan and Ling are still mourning Fu, Greed gets on everyone’s nerves except Ling’s, and the pressure of everything they will have to do once they get back to Xing weighs on all of them. But right now, even all of that isn’t enough to come in between the easy conversation and the warm contentedness in Ling’s heart.

Ling’s arm has become slightly numb, so he nudges Greed until he is draped across Ling’s shoulders in a slightly different angle, shifting his weight somewhere else.

He isn’t used to anyone touching him so constantly, and even though it’s Greed, it’s sometimes awkward. In only a week and a half, he feels like he’s discovered a hundred positions for two people to be near each other that can’t be held for any length of time without becoming uncomfortable. Sometimes it seems that human bodies aren’t meant to fit next to each other for long periods of time. His limbs have fallen asleep more times than he can count.

But at the same time, their physical closeness feels so right that Ling couldn’t bear to wish for it to stop. Greed has been a constant part of Ling’s life for so long now that he can’t imagine not having Greed near him at all times. The one day that Ling tried was one of the worst of his life.

Eventually, Ling will get to a point where Greed and him can be apart from each other for more than a few minutes without feeling a horrible crush of worry and loneliness. He’s already more-or-less gotten used to being alone in his own head, after all. But for now, he plans on staying near Greed for as long as circumstance lets him.

Lan Fan finishes the story, and Mei snorts. “That’s impressive, but it’s nothing compared to the man who tried to burn our crops during the drought two years back. He thought if he could destroy our food supply, I would be too busy repairing my clan to be be in the running for heir.”

“Have I mentioned how fucked up your system is?” Greed asks.

“Yes.” Ling nudges Greed’s shoulder with his head. “Multiple times. Not that you can talk with _your_ country’s origins.”

“Fair enough,” Greed says.

“I’d tell you the story, but it’s getting late,” Mei says. “I think I’ll head to bed.” She and Xiao Mei both stifle a yawn, and then she stands and walks to her bed roll.

“Good night!” Ling calls out.

“‘Night,” she echoes sleepily.

After a minute, Lan Fan also gets up, walking around the camp to search for any sign of danger. Ling watches her steady steps, inaudible over the crackling of the fire. After a lap, she actually heads to her bed roll, instead of keeping watch, which really shows how much she trusts Greed to keep an eye on things. Ling had insisted she not stay up all night to guard the camp, since Greed can’t sleep, and it would be a waste not to take advantage of that, but he’s surprised that she actually listens.

“You should go to sleep too,” Greed tells him.

Ling makes a muffled noise into Greed’s shoulder. “But I’m so comfortable here.” Now that everything’s quiet, exhaustion crashes down on him. He can feel his eyelids drooping, but he doesn’t want to move. He doesn’t want to sleep. His head is still too empty, and when that all-consuming quiet gets to be too much in his dreams, it’s not like he can just talk to Greed to chase away the silence like he can in real life.

Part of him expects Greed to grab control of their body with a roll of his eyes and move them to their bed roll for him, all while complaining about Ling’s laziness, but it doesn’t happen. It can’t happen, not anymore.

“Brat,” Greed mutters, pulling away from Ling, though his arm stays around his shoulders. And then all of a sudden another arm is hooked beneath his knees and Ling feels himself lifted off the ground.

Part of Ling wants to protest, but he’s tired and the sway of Greed’s steps is relaxing, so he doesn’t.

A moment later, he is set gently down on top of his sleeping roll. Greed draws back, but Ling grabs onto his shirt before he can get too far. “Stay?” he asks, sleepy enough that no other words form in his mind. He doesn’t think he needs them for Greed to understand anyway.

“If Lan Fan yells at me for not guarding the camp properly, it’s your fault,” Greed informs him, but he crawls into the sleeping bag.

“Okay,” Ling says, as he climbs in beside Greed. The bag is large enough that Ling doesn’t feel trapped or squished, but there still isn’t much wiggle room. At least Greed doesn’t give off much body heat, so he won’t have to worry about overheating.

Ling closes his eyes and lets his thoughts relax. There is still a panicky dread clinging to the corners of his mind, but between his exhaustion and Greed’s comforting presence, he thinks he might be able to fall asleep before long.

...

It seems harsh to say that they are just waiting for the Emperor to die, but Ling supposes that it’s true. After arriving in the capital city of Xing and demonstrating the effectiveness of the philosopher’s stone by decapitating Greed and letting his head grow back, the Emperor had named Ling his heir.

Now, the Emperor has the rest of the philosopher’s stone and is using it to perform miracles as a show of his strength to the court. Ling sees no reason to tell him that the stone’s powers are limited, that someday soon it will run out. So now it is just a matter of time before he dies and Ling can take his place.

In the meantime, him and the others are staying in the capital, trying to find their place within the complex system of politics that governs Xing.

Many people are unhappy at Ling for taking their preferred candidate’s position of heir, but Ling knows he needs them on his side if he is to do any of the things he has planned. Many of his decisions will receive backlash, and he is already seen as a bit eccentric and rebellious, so he needs all the support or even non-aggression he can get.

After one such meeting with the heads of the Wu clan, he escapes to the Emperor’s gardens one afternoon, trying to clear his head. It isn’t exactly a peaceful diversion, with all the wariness of possible assassination that has been instilled in him, but it’s nice to be out in the sun for a bit.

“Whew, that was one stuffy meeting,” Greed says, kicking at a small pebble in the path. His Xingese improves everyday, but when it’s just them, he slips back into Amestrian.

“You weren’t required to stay,” Ling says, maybe a little more tetchily than Greed deserves. He’s been more of a help than Ling expected, picking up history, customs, and policies with dizzying speed. It turns out that a two hundred year old being that has paid fairly close attention to one country’s politics for personal reasons might actually know a lot of tact and strategic decision making skills, as much as his general attitude would suggest otherwise.

Greed snorts. “Fat chance. I’m not gonna risk you losing any power just because you couldn’t make a proper clan alliance.”

Ling rolls his eyes. Out of the two of them, Greed is the one more likely to cause the loss of an alliance, despite his surprising understanding of politics, so he's one to talk.

They fall into silence as they walk along the path, shoulders brushing. By now, Ling hardly ever notices how often he and Greed fall into place at each other’s side. It rarely seems to be a conscious decision anymore, as natural and inevitable as a rock letting gravity take hold. If not for an earlier comment by one of the Wu clan’s representatives, he wouldn’t even be thinking of it now.

His thoughts are interrupted by a woman approaching him from the other end of the path. Her face is familiar, and it takes Ling a moment of running through the names of his older half-sisters before he can place her as Nuan of the Jiang clan.

With Ling having recently been named heir, many members of the Xingese nobility have been turning up in the capital, so this isn’t exactly a surprise, though he was hoping to have a few minutes to himself without having to think about politics.

Still, he can’t be rude if he wants to create more alliances, so he politely greets her when she nears, Greed watching from the side as silent and steadfast as a bodyguard. Nuan sneaks wary glances at him, probably noticing his bizarre qi and not quite standard Xingese clothing, but she doesn’t say anything about it.

“I’ve heard that you plan to abolish the system of heirs and change the adversarial nature of clans,” Nuan says, once the formalities are done with.

Ling blinks. She isn’t wrong, but it’s not like Ling’s been announcing his plans to the public. It seemed far safer to keep quiet until he is actually in charge, that way his opponents will have less time to plot against him. “Where did you hear that?”

“I was speaking with Princess Mei earlier,” she says, her voice revealing nothing.

If Mei told Nuan, then it must mean she trusts her, so Ling doesn’t think Nuan has come to tell him how bad his plans are, but he doesn’t know what exactly to expect. His thoughts are darting for something polite to say to lead her to talk about her reason for approaching him.

But Greed is faster and blunter, so he speaks before Ling can. “So what do you think of it?” His Xingese is accented but still understandable.

Nuan blinks, clearly not expecting him to speak, but then a blank mask covers her face in an expression that Ling recognizes as the ‘oh, he’s a foreigner who doesn’t know our ways’ look that Greed has already received so many times. “I wish to give you my support,” she says, addressing Ling. “Following tradition is well and fine, but this one has caused far too much bloodshed.”

“I agree,” Ling says. “I know many will protest the change, so I am grateful to have you as my ally in this.” He wonders why she offers her support so quickly, even before all the details have been figured out, before Ling is even in a position to change anything. The clan system harms the smallest ones the most, and though the Jiang clan is smaller than the Yao clan, it isn’t by much. People say not to look gift horses in the mouth, but those people have clearly never been politicians.

“Maybe it’s time for a bit of change.”

“That is not a common view here,” Ling says, knowing that she will catch his unvoiced question.

“No,” she agrees. Her mouth twitches with the barest flicker of emotion as she glances at the flowers near Ling’s feet. ”My twin brother was assassinated when we were young. I cannot see the benefits of a system that encourages the murder of children.”

Ling’s heart clenches. He could spend an entire day listing his grievances with the clan system, but he knows that his suffering could never match Nuan’s. He has never had a twin, but he imagines losing Lan Fan or Mei or Greed, and he knows that it would shatter him.

“I’m sorry,” Ling says, allowing his polite mask to drop in favor something more sincere. “I won’t let this ever happen again.”

She nods, but then tilts her head slightly and asks, “Why?”

“I have no reason as strong as yours,” Ling admits. “But in Amestris, Princess Mei and I fought against a common enemy and shared common friends. I promised to protect her clan when I became Emperor, and then it seemed unfair not to do the same for all clans.”

“Ah, so you’re an idealist,” Nuan says, smiling slightly.

In the past few weeks, Ling has heard so many people from his own clan and others toss the term around as an insult, but Nuan doesn’t seem to hold mockery in her tone, though Ling wouldn’t go so far as to say it was meant as a compliment.

“I want what is best for my people,” Ling says simply. “Princess Mei may call me greedy, but now that I am heir, ‘my people’ has expanded from the Yao clan to all of Xing.” It’s a bit of an inside joke, and though Ling keeps his expression neutral, he can almost feel Greed smirking beside him.

“I suppose it’s time Xing has a leader who thinks like you,” Nuan says, and Ling catches a flash of amusement in her eyes. “I just hope you live up to your words.”

“I will,” he promises, fixing this determination to his heart.

As she takes her leave, Greed turns to Ling. “Hey, you got another one on your side! Not all of your siblings hate you for taking their spot!”

The cynical part of Ling scoffs. Out of forty currently living siblings, one isn’t a lot. And in any case, now that there is little chance of any of them becoming the ruler of Xing, the Emperor’s other children don’t hold nearly as much political power. Just because Nuan supports him doesn’t mean that her clan leader will.

“Just take the win,” Greed tells him, probably sensing Ling’s doubt. Even after weeks of separation, he still knows Ling’s mind almost as well as Ling does.

Greed is right—even small victories should be celebrated. Ling tries to brush away his pessimism. Nuan may be only one person, but if she is so quick to take Ling’s side, who knows how many more feel the same? Besides, if there is one thing that Ling has learned from his trip to Amestris, it’s how even one person can tip the balance.

“To a better future then,” Ling says.

“To a better future,” Greed echoes.

...

It isn’t common for Xingese people to say “I love you” out loud very often. It was strange when Ling first visited Amestris, to see people casually toss the words out to partners as they left the house for work, to children coming home from school, to friends and siblings in a manner that was somehow both mocking and entirely sincere.

That doesn’t mean Xingese people are cold and feelingless, like Ling knows a lot of Western countries stereotype them as. They just don’t see the need to say the words when their every action reveals the depth of their emotion.

During the first few months that he is Emperor, Ling shows his love for his friends by having a cat sanctuary built for Mei, a memorial on the palace grounds for Fu, and large fancy rooms for Greed. He shows it when he fires the staff members who sneer at Mei, when he makes Lan Fan’s favorite kind of tea after exhausting days, when he keeps Greed around him all the time, nearly as inseparable as when they still shared a body. He tries to improve their lives in every way that he can, big and small. This is enough for him, and he assumes it’s enough for them as well.

He is doing paperwork one night, Greed’s head in Ling’s lap as Greed gestures along to the story he is telling, when Ling wonders if he needs to reconsider his assumption.

After all, Greed is an Amestrian, and Ling wouldn’t want Greed to think Ling’s affection for him was lesser simply because he didn’t show it in a way Greed was used to. But he dismisses the thought quickly. Anyone who spent so long calling their friends “possessions” wouldn’t show love directly through words.

Ling tries to focus on the paperwork because figuring out how much he needs to lower taxes on the Zhang clan is important, but it’s been a long day, and Greed is distracting. One of Greed’s hands almost hits Ling’s nose, and Ling scowls and bats it away.

“Watch where you’re waving your arms!”

Greed smirks and deliberately whacks Ling in the face. “Maybe if you were paying more attention to me, I wouldn’t have to resort to this.”

“I’m paying attention!” Ling protests, even though he wasn’t really. “Camila’s father holds a grudge against the girl she likes.”

“And he tried to convince this other girl, Rita, to try to marry Camila so she can’t be with Annette.”

“And that,” Ling says. That must have been the part he missed.

“Anyway,” Greed continues, launching back into the story. “Camila finds out about this plot and comes to the bar, going on about how Annette is her _soulmate_ , and she absolutely _cannot_ be with anyone else. She scared away customers, she was so upset! And this is the _Devil’s Nest_ I’m talking about, so that’s not easy to do. So anyway, I send Roa to go calm her down, and he talks her into letting Rita in on everything so she can meet with Annette without her dad finding out.”

Ling listens attentively, laughing at the convoluted schemes of the girls and reaction of Camila’s dad when he finds out that his daughter ends up wanting to be with both Rita _and_ Annette. Paperwork can wait another hour, he figures.

“I’ve heard this word before, soulmate,” Ling says once Greed has finished his tale. “What exactly does it mean? I thought I knew, but people keep using it differently than I expect.”

“It’s... uh, like the perfect person for you,” Greed says. “Someone who completes you, usually romantically. The person you’re fated for.”

Ling frowns. He likes his definition better.

The concept isn’t unfamiliar. In Xing, there are stories of the invisible red string of fate tied around the ankles of people who are destined to marry. The story varies from place to place, and the version that the Yao clan tells is that the string connects all the people who will have significant impact on each others’ lives, which might explain why Ling has the opinions he does.

“I mean, it’s bullshit,” Greed continues. “But lots of people believe in it or like the idea of it.”

“Well I don’t.”

“Whiny brat.”

“Why should there be only one person who is your soulmate?” Ling asks. “Even in your story, Camila found two people she loved. A term as beautiful as ‘soulmate’ should be put to better use than that. All true friends are connected by their souls.”

“Yeah, you’ve mentioned that,” Greed mutters, and Ling remembers the sewers, Bido’s body on the ground, Greed staring blankly in shock as memories flood his brain and Ling yells at him about the lasting impact of friendship.

“Well, it’s true,” Ling says because his purpose wasn’t to get bogged down in the painful past. “‘Soulmates’ sounds like it should refer to people who are so close that their connection runs deeper than the confines of the physical world. Mate is a word that means friend, isn’t it?”

“Huh, I guess I never thought about it like that,” Greed says. He tucks his hands under his head, his right elbow prodding Ling in the stomach as he adjusts himself. “If you said soul friends, I’d probably think of something more along the lines of what you’re talking about.”

“You know,” Ling says, a smile quickly spreading across his face. “By my definition, we’re the truest soul mates, since we basically shared a soul.” He isn’t arrogant enough to think his love for Greed is the strongest or deepest that there is, but sharing thoughts with him for months makes their soul unity hard to beat in a literal sense.

Greed rolls his eyes. “Wipe that soppy smirk off your face! All we did was share a body!”

“Yeah, but by the end, I couldn’t always tell whose thought was whose and who was controlling which part of the body. I don’t think anyone else can ever say they were as close as that.” Which might be why Ling felt like so much of himself was missing, when Greed was first torn out. Even now, he sometimes misses the company in his brain, the togetherness that can’t be matched by anything else. He likes having full control of his body and having some privacy when he wants it, but that doesn’t mean nothing was lost.

“Fair enough,” Greed says, and the conversation comes to a lull.

Ling turns back to his paperwork.

“You ever think about marriage?” Greed asks after a bit. “Since you got rid of the whole ‘marry a women from each clan’ thing?”

“I haven’t said anything yet, but I was thinking about making Mei my heir,” Ling says. “Though, given the way she looks at Al... I’m not sure if Xing would be ready for a mixed person on the throne, but who knows how things might change in a generation. But it would of course be impossible if Mei decides to move to Ames—”

“No, not marrying for heirs,” Greed says. “Marrying because you want to. For love or whatever.”

Ling blinks. The idea hasn’t even occurred to him. “Uh, then not really. Xing doesn’t really hold the same emphasis on romance that Amestris does.” And even if it did, Ling thinks he would still actively not seek it out. The idea of him being married, and all the things that would come with it, grates on his soul. If it were an arranged marriage, he would not be so opposed, but making it about something other than duty is something he couldn’t handle.

“Really?” Greed asks, eyebrow raised. “But what were you just saying about Mei? She’s completely enamored with Al.”

“I’m not saying it doesn’t happen, just that our society isn’t as obsessed with the idea. And _I_ never feel like that.” Then Ling grins and nudges Greed with his thigh. “Besides, if I got married, I’d have to kick you out of my bed, and I don’t think I could deal with your ensuing whining.”

“I don’t whine,” Greed protests.

Ling ignores the obvious falsehood. “What about you?”

“I want everything,” Greed says, and Ling is prepared to cut him off because he’s heard this spiel too many times, but Greed doesn’t go into it. “I’m not going to tie myself down to one person. But like romance in general? I dunno. I guess if someone comes along, but I’m not seeking it out. I’m pretty happy with what I have, which is bizarre when you’re the personification of wanting things.”

Ling remembers Greed’s admission that the thing he truly wanted was good friends, and something soft and warm curls up in his stomach at the thought of Greed's greatest desire having been met. “Does that mean you’ll have to change your name to ‘satisfaction’?”

“Hell no!” Greed says so vehemently that Ling laughs. “I still want things! I’m still greedy! I just... I just don’t feel empty inside anymore.”

Ling thinks back to his lonely childhood, that all-consuming hollowness in his chest when his mother ignored his efforts to catch her attention, when Lan Fan first started treating him more like a prince than a brother, when he broke into the Elrics’ hotel room just to see a friendly face who didn’t see him as someone to protect.

He still has desires; he wants his country to progress, for his people to be safe and well-off; he wants his friends to be happy and lead fulfilling lives; he wants to visit Amestris again; he wants a hundred other things. And it’s not like he never feels that aching emptiness of a universe too vast and an existence too solitary anymore. But with his friendship with Mei and Greed, with his tightened connection with Lan Fan, with his constant letters to Al and Ed, his life and dreams feel full in a way they haven’t before.

“You know,” Ling says. “I’m pretty content too.”

Greed snorts. “Easy for you to say, Emperor of the biggest country in the world.”

“It wouldn’t mean anything without you here,” Ling says. “All of my friends, really, but also you in particular. I don’t know what I would do if you really had died that day.”

“Moved on with your life and ruled Xing like you planned to,” Greed says.

“Probably, but I’m glad I didn’t have to.” Ling finally gives up on finishing his paperwork tonight and sets down his pen, reaching for Greed with his newly freed hand.

“Sap,” Greed mutters, but he takes Ling’s hand and doesn’t let go.


End file.
